


A million dreams for the family we're gonna make

by Koalafied



Series: Family life [1]
Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hugs, M/M, Men Crying, Non-Consensual Spanking, barnum being a dad to phillip, barnum is divorced but still friends with charity, parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-24 12:29:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15630717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koalafied/pseuds/Koalafied
Summary: Growing up, Phillip had never really had a father figure in his life. What would happen if he finds that his best friend and partner, with whom he has been living together with for 2 years, is willing to take on this role for him?





	1. In the beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic ever. I still hope you like to read it :) It's probably not the best, but you've got to start somewhere right?

“Get out of the bathroom, I really need to do my morning routine!” yelled Helen towards her father.  
The door popped open and Phineas.smiled sheepishly towards her and said “Didn’t we teach you to say please?” “Fine then, please dad. I’m already late for school.”  
Laughing heartily, Phineas. stepped out of the bathroom, letting his youngest daughter in. “Do you know where my car keys are?” asked Caroline as he was walking down the stairs, wanting to get some breakfast. “I don’t know, maybe on the countertop” he said to his eldest daughter as he sat down at the table to have something to eat. “Found them, thanks!” Caroline replied.  
“Will you take your sister to school with you?” Phineas asked his daughter. “Sure, Helen hurry up! Or we’re both going to be late!” “Didn’t mom and dad teach you to say please, Caroline?” replied her sister, which caused Phineas and Phillip to laugh so hard they nearly choked on it, especially when they saw the look on Caroline’s face. As soon as Helen walked down the stairs, she got her coat on and went outside with her sister, after both giving Phineas and Phillip a quick hug before leaving.  
“I really wonder whom they have it from” said Phillip as he looked at his friend. “Well, they most certainly don’t have it from me!” replied Phineas as he tried to look innocent, causing the younger man to fall into laughter once more. Realising they would be late too if they didn’t hurry, they both ran to collect their stuff and went to work.  
  
In the evening, after they had left Helen and Caroline at their mother’s house for the weekend, they returned to an empty house. Since both of them couldn’t really be bothered to cook that evening, they decided to order in some food and watch Netflix.  
“Let’s watch this one” Phineas said as he searched through the menu, trying to find something they both would like to watch. “Sure, but I want to pick the next one!” said Phillip, looking at Phineas with a grin. When the ending credits started rolling, Phineas was alarmed by a soft sobbing sound next to him.  
“Hey, what is it?” he asked. “It’s nothing, Phin, really” Phillip responded. “Well, you don’t really strike me as a man that would cry for no reason at all, Phil” Phineas said. “Seriously, you can tell me. What’s wrong?” he said, wrapping an arm around the younger mans shoulder. “It’s just that I’ve never really had a father, and this movie just made me think of it” Phillip choked out, jerking his head away from Phineas, not wanting him to see him cry over something like this. It really broke Phineas' heart to see his friend like this, and instinctively he gently leaned towards Phillip, and turned his face ever so gently facing towards him again. A few tears rolled down Phillips cheeks as he looked up at Phineas. Phineas didn’t waste any time, and immediately wrapped his arms around the younger man, guiding his head to his shoulder.  
As soon as Phillip’s head met his shoulder, he started to sob violently against it. “Shhhhhh, it’s alright mate” Phineas soothed him, all the while rubbing slow circles on his back and shaking shoulders. “I’m sorry,” sobbed Phillip against his shoulder. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, Phil” Phineas said, still trying to shush him and comfort him at the same time. After some time Phillip’s sobs finally stopped. “You know, I’ve just always wanted to have a father. But I never had one, since my dad walked out on me since I was little.” Looking at his friend, Phineas smiled and said “Well, you may have never had one growing up, but if you want me to, I can try to be a sort of father figure for you.” “Really?” “Uhu, really” Phineas said as he watched Phillip regaining his seated position once more.  
“Well, I suppose we could try it out, Phin” he said. “But how are we going to make this work? How do we plan on doing this?” he aked the older man. Phineas thought for a while and said “Well, we can make some sort of rules. You break them, then there are consequences. What those are depends on what you’ve done.” Phillip’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Phineas' face as he said this. “How do you mean, consequences?” “Well, for example, I can take away your phone for a set amount of time, or I can ground you. I could also just tell you off if it's something really minor. But if it really calls for it, I will take you over my knee and spank you.” Phillip laughed out loud when he said the last part, looking like he didn't believe his ears. “You wouldn’t really spank me, right? I mean, I’ve never been spanked in my entire life.” “I’m well aware of that, seen your behaviour at some times. You really do act like a spoilt brat occasionally” Phineas chuckled. “Well, I’m not going to spank you for every tiny infraction you do, so don’t worry” he said, making Phillip look at him with a smile. It’s not that Phillip hated the thought of Phineas acting as a father to him, it was the thought of him actually getting spanked if he got into real trouble that made him a bit nervous. He’d never been spanked, that was a true thing. He didn’t even know what to do or expect when getting spanked, except that he would end up with a sore bottom afterwards. Still, he was willing to accept this offer, but he made a mental note not to give Phineas any reason to spank his bottom. “Do you want to pick the next movie?” Phineas asked. “Yeah, I do, actually.”    
  
  



	2. Uh oh..... here comes trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some heartbreak for Caroline, and Phillip gets into some real trouble. Lots of fluff though!

The front door closed with a slam as Caroline hurried up the stairs, followed by another slam of her bedroom door. Surprised, Phillip looked up from his laptop and decided to find her. He got to her door, and knocked. “Caroline? It’s me, Phil. Everything alright?” he asked, his voice full of concern.  
“Go away” She shouted at him. Not taking no for an answer, he opened the door and stepped into her bedroom. She was lying in bed, facedown. Worriedly, he got closer to her and sat next to her on the bed. “Caroline, really, what’s the matter? And don’t tell me to go away, because I’m not listening to that” he said to her in a soft voice, while he rubbed her back.  
“Henry broke up with me” she said while she held her face in her pillow. She and Henry had been together for about 1.5 years, and although Phillip was never really a fan of him, he couldn’t help but feeling sorry for her. “He said that he never loved me, and that it was all just pretend” Caroline said, her voice being muffled by the pillow. That was enough for Phillip to decide to gently pick her up, and making her sit on his lap. She offered no resistance, but still kept her head hung low as she sat in his lap.  
He reached for her face, gently placing one hand on her cheek, brushing away a tear with his thumb, whilst the other hand was gently placed around her waist. “He’s a dumbass, and he didn’t even deserve you in the first place Caroline” Phillip kindly told her. Caroline started sobbing, and Phillip hugged her, holding her close and letting her cry against his shoulder. “Shhhhh, it’s alright love. Just cry it out” he said, whilst rubbing slow circles on her back.  
He felt his dress shirt getting dampened by her tears, but he didn’t even bother about it. Why would he? Heck, if he had been dumped like that, he would bawl his eyes out too, no lie! She had every reason to cry.  
“I don’t know what to do anymore Phil, I really dooont know” Caroline cried against his shoulder, sobbing violently. “ Shhh. You don’t have to do anything, just get it out” he said, still holding her close.  
Seeing her this upset brought tears to his eyes as well. He quickly wiped them away, and made Caroline look at him, giving her a bright smile. “You know what, you’re an amazing girl, Caroline. And if he’s too stupid to realise that, than that’s his loss. Not yours. I know it might seem like the world is coming to an end now, but trust me. It does get better. Maybe not straight away, but it does.” “I know” she said, “but it still hurts nonetheless.” She gently released her grip on him, and stood up to sit next to him.  
“You know, I could always still wreck his car” Caroline joked to Phillip, which caused both of them to chuckle. “Well, it’s not a very good idea is it?” Phillip told her. “No, but I can always be creative on his car, you know, paint something nice on it” she said, laughing. “What would you like to paint on it?” “A warning sign” “Why?” “So that everyone that sees him driving, would know that there’s something to watch out for” she said. They both started laughing just at the idea of it.

“We really have to go” Helen told them as she popped her head around the corner. Caroline nodded and she and Phillip got downstairs too, getting their suitcases into the car as they were heading towards their mother's house.  
When they finally got there, all three of them stepped out of the car and Phillip handed them their luggage, greeting Charity as she opened the door for them. When the girls had gotten everything out of the car, Phillip said his goodbyes to the three women, promising to call every weekend, and drove back home.  
He was almost home when he was pulled over by the police. "Good evening sir" the police officer said to him. "May I have your licence and papers please?" "Yes sir, may I ask what the problem is?" Phillip asked the officer. "Sir, you're allowed to drive 40 miles an hour here, but you were speeding at 50 miles an hour." Phillip was struck with surprise, as he hadn't realized that he was going too fast. "I'm very sorry sir, it won't happen again. I wasn't aware that 40 was the maximum speed here" he told the officer. Nonetheless, he accepted the ticket that was being given to him, and resumed his way back home.

"Hi there!" Phineas greeted Phillip as he walked into the living room. "Hi there too" "How did it go these past days?" Phineas asked the younger man. Phineas had been away for business for the past two days and got home just after Phillip and his daughters left to go to Charity. "It went well, except for the fact that Henry broke your daughter's heart" Phillip said, sounding still quite angry with the guy. Phineas gave him a look that was all telling on how he felt about Henry too. "Caroline told me, when she called me to tell me that she and Helen had arrived safely at Charity's place" he said. "She told me that you actually did a really good job cheering her up, so thanks for that." Phillip blushed as he accepted the compliment from the older man. "I'm going to take a shower"Phillip said as he was making his way up the stairs. 

When Phineas sat down on the couch, he noticed the ticket that lay on the table. Thinking it was Caroline's, he reached forward to check out. When he realised that it was not hers, but Phillip's, he decided that once Phillip got downstairs, he was going to be in real trouble.

 

Unaware of the discovery of the ticket, Phillip walked down and went into the kitchen to have some left over Thai food. When he sat down, he started to eat his Pad Thai and turned on the television.  
"Phillip, do you have something to tell me?" Phineas asked. Not knowing exactly what Phineas was going after, Phillip responded "No, not really. Should I?" Phineas stood up and picked up the speeding ticket and handed it over to Phillip. Phillip looked at it, then at Phineas and said "Oh, yeah, I got this ticket when I was driving back after having dropped off Helen and Caroline." "And?" "Well, I wasn't aware of the fact that I was driving too fast. I really didn't do it on purpose. But I'm sorry." Phillip looked at the older man's face, trying to read what he was thinking.  
"What would've happened if Caroline and Helen were in the car with you while you were driving too fast?" Phineas asked him. "Or what could've happened if you didn't have a chance to hit the breaks in time and bumped into something, or worse?" Phillip felt his face turning red, and shamefully he said "I'm really sorry, I was being reckless, I know. But I really didn't intend on doing so. However, I do realise that an accident could've happened if I wasn't as lucky as to just get a ticket" he answered. Phineas believed him, knowing that Phillip would never risk his or his daughters' life on purpose. Nevertheless, he was going to make sure that Phillip learned from this, in order to prevent this from ever happening again.  
He sat down next to Phillip, and looked at him. "Do you remember what we talked about last weekend?" he asked. "Yes" Phillip said, knowing exactly what Phineas meant. "Well, I know you've never been spanked before, but I think that this really calls for one" Phineas said, all the while checking the younger man's reaction. Phillip nodded his head "Yeah, I think so too." " I will spank you tomorrow, and I expect you to write some lines too afterwards for me" Phineas told him. Again Phillip nodded in agreement to this. "I understand, but please know that I'm really sorry. And not just because I'm getting spanked." "I know that" Phineas assured him. "You're a good guy Phil, and I love you the same still." Phillip managed to give him a small smile, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Phineas wiped it away with the pad of his thumb, giving him a hug. "Let's go to sleep, and tomorrow we will discuss this further." Needless to say that Phillip actually didn't get that much sleep that night, as he was anticipating what would happen the next day.


	3. Prudence, and other sorts of discomfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the ex-in-laws and will Phillip learn the consequences of his action?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will contain spanking. It's probably not as good as you might expect, but I'm still learning to write fanfiction. If you have any feedback on how I can write my chapters a bit better, please don't hesitate to let me know :) I'd love to learn! Please enjoy :)

After what seemed like an endless night to Phillip, morning finally dawned. Looking next to him, he saw that Phineas was already awake, reading something on his iPad. “Hey” Phineas said as he saw Phillip looking at him. “Hey” Phillip said, sounding rather sleepy still. Phineas looked at his partner, while giving him a wild smile. “  
Are you hungry?” he asked Phillip. “Yeah, I’m starving actually” Phillip responded, looking relieved that Phineas was smiling at him, after what happened yesterday.  
“Well, breakfast is ready in 20 minutes, so if you’d like some, you’d better make sure you’re downstairs by then” Phineas told him as he got out of bed and made his way to the door. Phillip stayed in bed for about 15 more minutes, and then he made his way downstairs too.  
When he arrived in the kitchen, he was welcomed by the smell of baked eggs and freshly made orange juice. As he sat down, he couldn’t help but smile. “Do you want some tea too?” “No I’m fine, thanks” he replied. The two of them had their breakfast whilst reading their newspapers, when suddenly the doorbell rang. Phillip got up and went to the door, opening it only to see Phineas’ ex mother-in-law standing there. “Is he home?” she asked him. “Yes he is” he replied. “Why don’t you come in, then I’ll get him for you.” 

Stepping aside, he let Prudence walk in front of him and followed her into the kitchen. “Phineas” she said, which made Phineas jump up in surprise.  
“Hi Prudence. What can I do for you?” he said to the elderly woman standing in front of him. “Well, first of all you can start with calling me Ma’am, you know I hate Prudence. Secondly, you can offer me a cup of tea if you please. And thirdly, I wanted to ask a favour of you” Prudence told him.  
Phillip chuckled as he heard his partner was getting taught some manners by his ex-mother-in-law. Phineas sighed and got her a cup of tea, and sat down to listen to her. 

“As you know, me and my husband haven’t been on vacation in years” she told him, whilst nipping at her tea. “But now we have an opportunity to do so.”  
“Wow, that’s great Prudence, ehh I mean ma’am” Phineas replied. “Yes, well. We’re leaving this afternoon on a cruise and we won’t be back until the end of summer.”  
“That’s wonderful” Phineas said, sounding a bit too happy at the thought of not having got to deal with her for 6 whole weeks.  
“We were wondering if you’d like to watch our house, and to maintain our garden and look after our precious Fifi while we are on holiday” she asked him. “As a good neighbour would do” she added to this, when he didn’t answer her quick enough. “Yes, of course. “ 

Prudence looked at him, frowning an eyebrow. “Ma’am” he quickly added, looking like he was about to murder Prudence with one of her pruning shears.  
”Well then, that’s settled then.” Prudence got up and walked towards the front door. As he let her out, Phineas couldn’t help but give a sigh as she walked towards her own house, shutting the door. “That woman is unbelievable” he said as he walked towards the window, where he saw his ex-parents-in-law getting their suitcases in the cab they ordered. “Yeah, she’s a real ray of sunshine” Phillip chuckled. “Well, that’s not entirely true” Phineas said. “She can be a real Ice Queen too. Well, let’s hope I don’t mess up her lovely garden with her pruning shears” he said, looking at Phillip with an mischievous look. “You wouldn’t do that!” he said. “Poor old Prudence would get a heart attack if she saw you pruning away at her precious roses and flower beds” he said, trying very hard not to laugh. “Does she even have a heart?” he quickly asked. “Well there’s only one way to find out” Phineas chuckled.

As soon as they waved them goodbye, the both of them went on to follow their own morning routine. Around noon, Phineas got home and brought Fifi with him, Prudence’s peach coloured mini poodle.  
The only thing that Fifi liked to do, was to sit and have her masters do everything for her. She would make a great princess, if she hadn’t been born a dog. Phineas couldn’t help but imagine how Prudence would look like if she actually had been a dog. She probably would’ve been like Fifi. Like Fifi, she also enjoyed people running for her and doing everything she commanded. Diva would’ve been a way better name for the dog, he thought, turning the tv on.

When Phillip walked in, he was greeted by the awful barking of Fifi, not happy that her beauty sleep had been rudely disturbed by him coming through the door.  
“Shhhh Fifi” he said, looking at the dog with a raised eyebrow. “Hi” he greeted his partner as he got into the living room.  
Phineas meanwhile was on all fours trying to unwind all the wires of the electronics, that had been hustled up by Fifi when she was trying to run towards the window, attempting to bark at the mailman for disturbing said beauty sleep only half an hour earlier. “Oh my” Phillip said as he saw Phineas struggling with the wires, trying not to laugh. “Oh my indeed, that dog is a real ray of sunshine too” Phineas chuckled as he looked up to face Phillip. “Don’t they always say that animals look like their owners?” Phillip remarked. “Well, whether it’s true or not, Fifi is a four legged mini me of Prudence” Phineas said, laughing heartily. Of course he knew that the dog couldn’t help it either, because having Prudence as an owner would be a living hell, he imagined.

After they had dinner, they both washed up and afterwards sat down on the couch, watching the newest reality show since there was nothing else to watch anyway. “Are you ready?” Phineas asked Phillip. Knowing what he meant, Phillip looked a bit nervous and said “yeah, I guess so.” Smiling at him, Phineas went to the kitchen and opened a drawer in which they keep all the cooking utensils. He returned to the living room, wooden spoon in hand, and sat down next to Phillip and patted his leg. Phillip got up, and draped himself across the older man’s knee. Phineas adjusted him so that he was resting comfortably on the couch, while his bottom was in the right position to spank him.  
He placed his right hand on the small of his back, keeping him in place and offering some comfort at the same time. “You know why I’m spanking you right?” he asked. “Because I speeded 50 where I was allowed to only do 40” Phillip answered. “I’ll start with my hand first, but I’ll be using the wooden spoon as well in the end.” Phillip nodded, and Phineas raised his left hand, letting it fall on Phillip’s left cheek, immediately followed by his right cheek. He continued to smack his bottom this way for about 10 times more, only to change the pattern by swatting each cheek from top to bottom and all the way up again before moving to the other.

After about a minute or two, he stopped. “Could you please take your trousers off?” he asked Phillip. Phillip got up, unbuckled his belt, and dropped his trousers to the floor, bending over Phineas’ knee once more. Phineas continued his pattern of swatting each cheek from top to bottom, and all the way up again before moving to the other one, increasing the speed a little bit. This caught Phillip in surprise, as the feeling of his partner’s hand on his boxers was way more painful than they had been on his trousers.  
The sting in his bottom was starting to grow, and he couldn’t help but writhe a little bit to avoid the increasing sting in his bottom. “Try to keep still” Phineas told him kindly. “I can’t it just hurts” Phillip said to him. “Well, it’s a spanking, it’s supposed to hurt.” Phineas said, whilst locking his legs between his own, pulling down the man’s boxers and placing a hand on the small of his back, trying to offer him some comfort.  
“Alright, this was just the warm up” he told Phillip. “Wh- what?” Phillip said sounding a bit shocked. “I haven’t really started spanking you yet, but I will be now” he answered his partner back. “Don’t worry, you won’t be bruised or anything like that” he assured him, realising that he was getting a bit scared since he’d never been spanked before.  
“Well, it doesn’t feel like it” Phillip snorted, making Phineas chuckle a little. “Attitude, young man” he said, while smacking his bottom three times. “This part will be a little different” he informed. “I will be doing some talking while I’m spanking you, and if I were you, I’d pay attention to what I’m saying or asking you, or else you’ll be staying over my knee for a while longer” he said. “Okay, I’ll try” Phillip responded, sounding a little bit like a lost child. “Very well then, do you think you can hold your hands in place, or do you want me to hold them for you?” Phineas asked kindly. “Ehh, I dunno.” Phillip took a few seconds to think it through, and said “Well, maybe you’d hold them for me?” Phineas gave him an encouraging smile, and took his hands in his right hand, resting them on Phillips back, squeezing lightly to encourage him.  
“Ready to start the real spanking?” he asked. “Ready as can be I suppose.” 

Phineas raised his left hand again, and peppered his bottom building a steady rhythm of slapping the same spot over and over before moving to another spot, repeating the pattern. Phillip felt his eyes sting with tears, as the heat in his bottom was increasing with every smack. “I don’t want you to do something reckless like this ever again” Phineas said, still peppering his bottom. “You should know better. I really don’t want to think about what could’ve happened if it ended much worse than a ticket.” “This is already worse” Phillip said under his breath, which was rewarded by an series of hard smacks to his sit spots. “OW” he cried out, since this hurt way more than any other spot he had been spanked on. “Then don’t talk back like that” Phineas said, going back to his bottom again. “If I ever have to repeat this lesson to you, I will promise you that this spanking is like a tickle” he ensured Phillip. “Do I make myself clear?” He stopped for a while, watching his partner’s reaction. Phillip nodded. Oh yes, he would make sure that this would never happen again! This spanking already hurt like hell, and no way did he want to risk a chance on getting an even worse one!  
Phineas decided it was time for the wooden spoon, and took it in his hand. “This will probably hurt a bit more” he said, tapping it against Phillip’s bottom. He raised his right leg a bit, so that Phillip’s bottom was placed in a different angle, perfect enough to pepper his sit spots with the spoon, making sure he really felt it when he sat down the next day or two.  
Phillip reached for the pillow in front of him, hiding his face in it in an attempt to muffle any cries of discomfort. As the spoon kept hitting his sit spots again and again and again, he couldn’t help but starting to cry. “I’m soooorry” he cried, barely audible because of the pillow. “I know you are, I really do.” Soon, he started sobbing and Phineas knew he had learned his lesson. Giving 10 more very hard smacks with the spoon, he tossed it aside and rested his hand on his partner’s now very red bottom. Tapping it gently, he helped Phillip up and put back on his clothes. Phillip kept his head low, and wanted to avoid his gaze.

Instinctively, Phineas brought him to his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around the man’s shaking shoulders. Phillip wasted no time and immediately buried his face in his partner’s dress shirt, gripping it with one hand and clinging to him as if he were a lifeline. “Shhhhh, it’s alright mate, no need to hide. It’s alright to cry, I know it hurt” he said, while rubbing circles on his back. “I-I-I’m r-really s-s-s-sorry Phin” he cried against his shoulder.  
“I know you are, apology accepted.” He stood there for a few minutes, holding Phillip as he cried his tears, shushing him and reassuring him. When his tears finally subsided, Phillip loosened his grip on Phineas’ shirt, and turned his face sideways so he could speak. “Thank you” he said. “I really hate getting spanked but I am also relieved by it, knowing that all is forgiven now and that you still love me the same. I guess I really needed it.” 

Surprised by his words, Phineas looked at the man’s face, noticing a little smile. “I’ve always wanted to be disciplined in a loving manner by you” he said, looking a bit unsure as he didn’t know how he would react to it. “I just never had the courage to ask you, thinking you’d find it weird or something like that.” Phineas looked at him with an raised eyebrow. “But I didn’t do this on purpose though” Phillip quickly added.  
They both looked at each other and started to chuckle. “Well, I don’t find it any weird Phil” Phineas said as soon as they had regained their breath a bit. “If this is what you need, what you crave, then I’m more than willing to give this to you.” “It still hurt like hell though.” Phineas laughed.  
“Well, a spanking is supposed to hurt.”  
“I really won’t be sitting down for the rest of my life” Phillip whined, only to be swatted lightly as a response making him jump up a little bit, rubbing his still sore bottom. “You will, and actually, you will be doing so right now” Phineas said, as he walked to the dining table and picked up a pen and some paper, placing it on the table.  
“I told you that you would be writing me some lines after your spanking.” “Oh come on, I’m sore” Phillip pleaded. “Sorry, you’re going to sit on your red bottom on this chair, writing me 100 lines saying: I’m not supposed to disrespect traffic laws and endanger my life.”  
Knowing he had no chance of getting out of this, Phillip sat down gingerly, hissing when his bottom made contact with the chair. Picking up the pen, he started writing his lines, writhing in his seat as he felt the sting in his bottom. When Phillip was done, he stood up and handed Phineas his lines. “Thanks” he said, taking them and placed them on the table. 

“Will you live to misbehave one more day?”


	4. She's a devil in disguise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter starring Fifi, the angelic dog. Or maybe not quite so?

Taking the pruning shears in his hand, Phineas started an attempt to maintain Prudence’s lovely garden. After all, how hard could it be would any normal person think right?   
Well, in the case of Prudence and her beloved rose garden and flowerbeds, anything that wasn’t pruned away properly would be like the end of the world. And you’d probably hear her stories about how you’d ruined her said garden every single Christmas for the next century or so, really exaggerating a bit to make you feel even more uncomfortable whilst sitting in the company of all.   
Nevertheless, after a few hours work, he felt quite happy with himself. He checked for about 20 times whether he had pruned everything away that needed be done, and he really couldn’t find anything he could’ve missed. Well, the only thing that had happened was that Fifi had decided to chase the postman all the way from his house to Prudence’s house, making him run through the flowerbeds as he tried to escape from Fifi.   
It’s not like it’s Phineas’ fault that the postman had to wake up Fifi from her beauty sleep, and not apologizing to her. Fifi really hated postmen, and getting woken up whilst resting. Small but fierce, he thought to himself as he made his way back home, making sure to check if Fifi didn’t accidently ruin something else. As he got home, Fifi had a little surprise for her surrogate owner. 

“What the actual heck!?!” Looking in front of him, he saw that all the cables had been tangled, vases and all shattered on the floor. And in the middle of this mess, on the couch, sat Fifi, looking quite pleased with herself.   
“Fifi” Phineas said in an angry tone to the peach mini poodle in front of him. “What on earth where you thinking?” he said, sighing deeply knowing that it was going to take them both quite some time to clean up this mess that Fifi had created. Looking like an innocent child, Fifi got up, and jumped at him wanting some attention.  
“Oh no, no no no! You’re not getting any attention young lady” he said, whilst taking her to her sleeping basket. Looking dismayed, Fifi growled at him. “NO! Bad Fifi.” Fifi decided to take her defeat for now, and left to go find her stuffed toy.  
“This dog is going to be the death of me” Phineas thought as he answered his Facetime call, knowing that his daughters would be Facetiming him.

“Hi dad!” Caroline and Helen said as they saw their father on their screen. “Hi loves, how are things?”  
“Good, how are things back home? Everything all right with you and Phil?”  
“Yeah we’re both doing great actually, for as long as Prudence doesn’t come home” Phineas joked. “Why, what had happened then?” Helen asked her father. “Fifi is a criminal, and orange would really suit her” he said before telling them what had happened this very morning, making his girls scream with laughter. “It’s not funny” he said, trying to sound angry. “If grandma finds out about this, my bum will be toast. And I’m sure that that’s what Fifi’s after!”   
“Dad, Fifi doesn’t do such a thing. You know that. Fifi is a perfect angel in grandma’s eyes.” Chuckling at his daughter’s comment, he turned the camera to show them the scene in the living room. “Oh my! She really is a criminal!” Caroline laughed.  
“Well, say hi to your mom for me will you?” Caroline and Helen smiled at him, promising they would. “Dad, when are the visitation hours for Fifi?” Caroline joked as he was about to hang up. “As soon as it will snow in August” he promised his eldest daughter, saying goodbye to them and dropping the phone next to him. 

When Phillip came home, they started cleaning up the mess Fifi had made. “Fifi’s a real angel” Phillip imitated Prudence. “True she is! A real angel with horns” Phineas said, unable to look at his partner because he was simply laughing too hard at the imagination of Fifi with angel’s wings, halo and devil’s horns sitting on a cloud. They both looked at Fifi, who was sound asleep, and very satisfied.


End file.
